A man accused of dragging his girlfriend to her death in front of a speeding train was yesterday cleared of her manslaughter.

Mum-of-two Kelly Mack, 29, was killed instantly by the 50mph National Express train passing through the Hythe station in Colchester, Essex, on March 27 last year.

Jonathan Freer-Smith, 18, told the court that just moments before her death he had managed to pull the stricken mum to safety after her Ugg boot got trapped in the cattle-grid.

He claimed her boyfriend Darren Palmer, 39, then dragged her across the tracks "like a rag doll".

Mr Palmer, from Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, denied pulling her to her death, instead claiming she had been drinking and he had helped her when she stumbled. There were gasps from the public gallery at Chelmsford crown court as he was cleared.